Derek Review

Ricky Gervais is the simple man named Derek. Netflix "new" show. Never mind that it played on the BBC first, they picked up the rights to air it stateside first. So we got 7 episodes of this show at once, as usual with Netflix. You can burn through the half hour long episodes real quick if you can sit through it that long. I made 5 before I had to stop.

Derek is about Derek Noakes, a nursing home helper and is a bit slow in the head. The show is a mockumentry style Gervais made famous with The Office. I was skeptical of how funny or how much I'd enjoy a show making fun of a mentally challenged person. But I gave it a shot. The first episode was a bit tough to get through, because I felt they were making fun of the mentally handicapped but that soon faded. While being funny, it was kind-hearted and had some genuinely sad moments, none at the expense of Derek's unnamed disability.

Defiantly not a pretty people show.

I am very much over the mochumentry style tv shows. I feel they have been over done and are generally not funny to me. Mainly because Reality TV shows are the same thing, staged/written events filmed with shaky cams and fake people talking at you. That is not to say I haven't enjoyed an episode or three of any Reality TV or mochumentry style show. I just prefer single camera narratives, shows that are like movies with big stories to tell. Derek has the over arching problem of not going anywhere fast. But is that a problem of the style or that it's a comedy? Hard to say. They do throw in a story of they have to come up with their own money to fund the nursing home but they gloss over if and never explain things.

Interesting product placement randomly thrown in.

The acting in this is generic British stand-in characters that can't exist in the real world. I have a hard time believing any of these people, aside from Derek, are real. Ricky Gervais does an outstanding job but I have yet to see why this show is around. Gervais based Derek on a character he used to do in his stand up. And the others are cardboard cutouts for him in interact with. It's been a week since I've seen it and I can't remember anyone's name.

"You can't remember my name? You dick."

Over all, I did enjoy the show. It was fun and touching all while been completely pointless. But when it comes down to it, isn't every show in some way pointless? So would I recommend it? Yes. You'll get attached to the Derek character very fast, rooting for him. You'll burn through this very fast, 30 minutes or so doesn't fill to much time. So pace yourself, and enjoy what little you are given. It's now on Netflix, give it go. 3 out of 5.

The Office Series Finale Review/Series Retrospective

Well, tonight was the final episode of The Office...ever! So not only am I going to talk about the series finale, I'm going to talk about the show in general. The show had already gone on for 4 seasons before I finally watched an episode. I was bored hanging out with a friend, who convinced me to watch the first episode of The Office. I was pretty much hooked at that point, although the first season is one that I tend to not go back and watch much of. I enjoyed it for what it was, but there are only a couple episodes I actually still enjoy. The show didn't really hit it's groove and find its place until the second season.

You've obviously got the love story of Jim and Pam, which leads to one of, if not the best season finale of the entire series. When Jim finally confesses his love for Pam, with the reaction she gives him, it's absolutely heart breaking. I love season two so much. It has plenty of great Michael Scott moments, plenty of build up for the Jim and Pam relationship, and quite a lot of great moments featuring the rest of the office in general. It's really one of the best seasons of the show in my opinion.

Season three is another one of my favorite seasons. Jim has now left, leading to the introduction of Karen and Andy. Karen is now Jim's new love interest after being shot down by Pam, and Andy is a more annoying/more realistic Dwight at first. When the branches merge and Jim and Pam are reunited, it leads to plenty of awkward moments. It also ends up making you just root for them to finally get together, which finally happens at the end of the season. (FINALLY!)

Season four for me was the last "great" season. I feel like this is where the show peaked. Jim and Pam were both still funny, Michael was great, Dwight and Andy are awesome, and you get plenty of awesome Kevin moments. Who doesn't love a good Kevin moment? He fucking rules. Seriously. Kevin is the best. His Kool-Aid man face is priceless. This is the season more so than any other that I'll put on when I'm going to sleep and watch. I just love it so much. This show has just been one of my favorite shows ever.

Season five had it's moments for me. The stress relief episode was great, as was the weight loss episode. But it just felt like there were too many "meh" episodes, and not enough good ones. That's where the show continues to go down hill for me. I'll pretty much wrap it up by saying that seasons 6-8 for me felt really lack luster. Robert California was awful, Nelly sucked for quite a while, Will Ferrell being absolutely unlikable and unfunny, Jim and Pam becoming the most boring couple ever, Andy and Erin trying to be the replacement for those two and failing....I could go on and on. I felt like this show should have ended after season 6, but they obviously had plans to continue on, so we were left dealing with a few lack luster seasons.

Season 9 for me ended up being a pretty good, not great season. For me, a major flaw has been the later seasons going 20+ episodes. It ends up giving you way too many filler episodes, and not enough good episodes that left an impact. However, the last couple of episodes were so damn great. They left you pretty much wanting to cry. I've been saying for the past few years how this show has over stayed its welcome, and how I wanted it to end. But now that it actually is over, I really don't want it to be.

The last episode takes place a year after the documentary was done filming. It's time for Dwight and Angela's wedding, so the episode focuses on Jim giving Dwight surprise bachelor presents. You end up seeing Dwight using a bazooka...seriously. So fucking awesome. This episode gives you quite a few heart warming moments, that if you weren't such a man you would be crying like a God damn baby. But I'm a man, so I didn't cry...I held back the tears. It was really great seeing former cast members come back for this episode. Kelly, Ryan, Carol, and...

MICHAEL FUCKING GOD DAMN SHIT ASS FUCKING DAMN SHIT SCOTT CAME BACK! I mean, you knew he had to. It really just wouldn't have made much sense or had nearly the impact without him. Jim and Dwight's reactions to seeing him were so priceless. A person who feels actual human emotions would have been crying so hard at this point. Michael doesn't say too much in this episode, but it was so great to see him back. The show basically wraps up with Jim and Pam making plans for their new life, and everyone recalling their time on the documentary. It was such a beautiful way to end such a great show.

I feel like they couldn't have done any more to wrap this show up. This finale made up for this show going on entirely too long, at least for me. I'm truly going to miss not being able to see new episodes of this show anymore, but damn did it leave with a bang. This will be one that I'll keep on the DVR and watch quite a few times over the next few years. Thanks a bunch to The Office for all of the great memories!